John Mayer has a simple explanation for his foot-in-mouth tendencies when talking about his exes in public.

"I was just a jerk," the "Born and Raised" singer admitted in a sit-down interview with CBS "Sunday Morning," set to air on Feb. 10. The crooner, who has been happily dating fellow musician Katy Perry since June 2012 -- with a brief separation in August -- made headlines in 2010 when he referred to his ex Jessica Simpson as "sexual napalm" in a Playboy interview.

Now, however, the 35-year-old singer is recovering from surgery on his vocal cords and says he's looking to turn over a new leaf as he prepares for a return to the stage for the first time in two years.

"It's very liberating when you finally realize it's impossible to make everyone like you," he said in the interview. "I wanted everybody to like me. I thought I was one shuck and jive away in every direction."

Mayer also previously dated Taylor Swift, 23, who went on to write a song "Dear John," which fans speculated was about their ill-fated romance. In the June 2012 issue of Rolling Stone, Mayer criticized Swift's decision to write the lyrically revealing song.

"It made me feel terrible," he told the magazine, "because I didn't deserve it." The singers briefly dated in 2009.